I’m not very good feminist. I’m happily married and there’s very little I can’t do because of mere gender stereotypes. I’m no Amanda Marcotte. However, I know when I have to stand up for the fact that I am human even though I have no penis.
I recall being at work and a supervisor informing me that I should wear high heels. I politely asked if the guys would be wearing them as well. He made no reply and I never heard another word about it.
I do bristle when I get the “honey” and “little lady” treatment (it’s ShortWoman, Mrs. Magnus if you’re nasty!). I don’t like being told I’m a “smart cookie” and that “you’ll figure something out” when I ask for advice. I can detect a virtual pat on the head from a patronizing tone whether it is written or vocal. (Yeah, I’m talking to you, Senator Ensign’s office!)
Nevertheless, I am reluctant to ascribe to patriarchy what might just be stupidity.
However, that being said, I have to call stuff out when I see it. Consider this: in one week, two different men were arrested for making threats against two different members of Congress that both happened to be female. First, it was Senator Patty Murray — for whom I have had the pleasure of voting. Then mere days later it was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Anybody see a pattern here? Anybody? Bueller?
I am forced to concede that the rambling idiocy of the ultra-conservative, far right wing, “wing nut” and/or “teabagger” communities can only be explained by misogyny and racism. It isn’t particularly that they have a problem with health insurance reform, or taxes, or “freedom”, or gun rights, or the global climate change “myth”, or whatever they are on about this week. If it was ever about those things, those days are gone. Their problem is that there’s a negro in the White House and that a damn broad is the Speaker of the House. And to be honest, I don’t know which pisses these highly insecure people off more.
Consider also the double standard about what women are allowed to discuss publicly, including on their blogs. A great number of normal, natural things are NSFW. Discussion of breast feeding — the most natural way to feed a baby, even condoned in the Bible — even becomes about sex and gender. We can’t show that! We can’t even discuss that! “Can’t baby have his dinner in the toilet??”
Variations of this also permeate every discussion of “pro-life” ideals that condemns contraception. When you scratch the surface, it rapidly turns into “if you don’t want babies, don’t have sex, slut!” Or in this case, “How dare poor women on public assistance want to have sex but still control the size of their families.” Indeed, shame on them for wanting contraceptives, then double shame on them for bringing children into this world that they can’t afford to feed.
As I said, I’m not much of a feminist, but when the bullshit is heaped this high, even I can smell the attitude of men who think women aren’t as good and certainly don’t deserve nice things like recreational sex and seats in Congress.
In Closing: $200,000,000 per air marshal arrest; I hope you never need the first contact help sheet; for that matter I hope you never need these emergency tips; many of us were Pheobe Prince; Cash for Clunkers worked??; and the Jobs Report has nothing to do with that new operating system for the iPhone.
Miss Shortwoman,
I am no teabagger, but I find your characterization of them to be somewhat broad and unfair (especially in light of the movement to infiltrate the tea-parties with fake over-the-top radicals in order to erode their credibility.)
As a male:
I wouldn’t shoot Patty Murray, but I am damned discontent with her stance on undocumented workers.
I wouldn’t bomb Pelosi but I can find a mountain of mismanagement in her wake (e.g. just today the WA Post wrote of her office’s inaction in the wake of Congressman Massa’s sexual misdeeds.)
Additionally one need not entertain the ‘President’s’ race (President is in quotes because I, as is written in the Constitution, do not believe a foreign national can legitimately be President of the U.S.) to find exception with his performance.
What is unfortunate is that radicals have assumed the most prominent postitions on all sides of the political equation and that has skewed the discussion.
Shortwaman is usually the voice of considered opinion, but this post sounds a little ‘shrill.’ (How’s that for a implied sexist slight and a head pat, deary? <–that was intended to be humorous.)
I want to believe that more of us regular americans (male and female)support womens' rights than might be believed merely from listening to those that control the political machine.
and there is a danger in alienating ones allies by constructing harmful stereotypes or broadly (mis)representations.
Well, I certainly did not mean to be shrill, my dear. 😉 Surely the racists and misogynists in the Tea Party movement are a minority (ha!) — I hope. Alas, I can’t find anything else that would really unify the most vocal elements of the movement.
You do have to admit that Ms. Murray was the far better of the candidates Washingtonians had on the ballot that year, her stance on a number of issues notwithstanding.
But, it is my understanding that Hawaii is part of the United States.